Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases Shares of 5,668 Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,668 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SIGI. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,711,000 after buying an additional 72,530 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 405,153 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,801,000 after acquiring an additional 7,563 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 8.3% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,984 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 51.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $93.00 target price (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.17.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ SIGI traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $89.42. 469,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 386,635. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.13 and a 52 week high of $103.60. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $86.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.37. The company has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.77 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.42%.

About Selective Insurance Group

Selective Insurance Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Standard Commercial Lines, Standard Personal Lines, E&S Lines, and Investments. It offers casualty insurance products that covers the financial consequences of employee injuries in the course of employment and bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party; property insurance products, which covers the accidental loss of an insured's real property, personal property, and/or earnings due to the property's loss; and flood insurance products.